Juwan Gary injury update: Latest on Nebraska's forward ahead of Ohio State matchup

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are playing well this season but had a massive injury scare with junior forward Juwan Gary against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Wednesday. Gary suffered a non-contact leg injury and headed to the locker room.

The immediate perception was that Juwan Gary's season could be over and that the Cornhuskers would struggle competing without one of their best players. However, the severity of the injury is not as bad. Cornhuskers coach Fred Hoiberg explained that Gary suffered a calf strain and will be considered day-to-day.

That's incredible news for the Cornhuskers, as he has played a pivotal role in their success this season. While it's unlikely to play on Tuesday against the Ohio State Buckeyes, it's a great sign that he will only miss a few games.

Juwan Gary has had an excellent season. In 15 games, he has played 24.7 minutes and recorded 11.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.9 blocks and 1.2 steals per outing, shooting 51.9% from the floor.

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Can Juwan Gary and the Nebraska Cornhuskers win the NCAA Championship?

Despite the Nebraska Cornhuskers doing well with a 14-5 (5-5 in Big Ten) record this season, they are considered huge longshots to cut down the nets at the end of the NCAA Tournament. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, they have +20,000 odds to win the title ($100 bet would win $20,000).

A big reason for that is because they are pretty good in a lot of categories without particularly excelling in any. The Cornhuskers are 87th in scoring (78.5 ppg) and 86th in rebounding (38.9 total rebounds per game).

The program does not have one of those elite players who can take over games single-handedly. While having a more complete roster could be viewed as a positive, Nebraska has a handful of decent scorers.

Having no one average 15.0 ppg seems like a recipe for disaster when looking for someone to go down the court and score a basket when the team needs it. Whether it's Juwan Gary or someone else, the Corhuskers needs an alpha to control the ball. Hence, they are a long way from being considered contenders for the national championship.